Mummy Must Have Review | Personalised Contigo Drink Bottles

I have a confession to make, I'm really bad at drinking water. I know we're meant to drink 2ltrs a day and all that but truth be told the only time I've ever come close to this was while I was breastfeeding {and that was 2yrs ago}. In reality the only water I drink each day is the water in my cups of tea {and given tea has a diuretic effect I don't think that counts towards keeping me hydrated}. I know, its bad. I also know that by 30 31 I should've had this drinking water thing down pat, lord knows it's been drummed into me for a good number of years now. But I just find the thought of drinking 8 cups of water overwhelming.

So, to try and improve and get close to drinking the right amount of water each day, I've got a cool new drink bottle. I'm hoping that by filling it each morning and having it near me at all times it'll encourage me to keep drinking. You see I like to be challenged so by challenging myself to drink at least one bottle of water a day I'll hopefully build up over time and it'll become a habit. Plus I figure if I have it staring at me all day it'll motivate me more than actually having to get up and walk to the fridge and fill up 8 glasses throughout the day {because lets face it the less effort I have to put in, the more likely I am to actually do it}.

PERSONALISED CONTIGO MADISION WATER BOTTLE

I have to admit I'm a little bit in love with my personalised madison bottle, its the prettiest water bottle ever. Not that I've had many water bottles other than the Mt Franklin ones from the store, but still, its pink which already puts it miles ahead. And its huuuuuge, 700ml huge to be exact {or 24oz if you're in America}.

See told you it was pretty. I also really love that it's clear so I can see how much water I have left to drink. It's much more motivational to see how close I am to the finish line, i.e. an empty bottle. Although men are meant to be more visually driven than women, I have to admit I'm more likely to remember things {like drinking more water} if I have a visual cue.

Speaking of visual cues, the bottle even came with nice instruction stickers. I know what you're thinking... it's a water bottle why the hell would it need instructions, you just drink from it. Well it needs instructions because its not just any old bottle. It doesn't have a twist top, a pop top or a straw, instead it has a super fancy release button opening. Which can leave people like me, who aren't used to fancy bottles, a tad perplexed at first. Thankfully the smart Contigo people envisaged this exact situation and took the liberty of adding some pretty obvious signs, like a big ass arrow pointing to the button that has a big ass sign that says PUSH. Crisis averted.

You see you push that magic button and the mouthpiece opens, and when you let go it seals back up again. There's no fiddling with lids, screw tops, pop tops, straws or any of that, just one super simple button. And the awesome thing is when you don't press the button the bottle doesn't leak {yes I shook it upside down to make sure}.

Do you want to know the other super cool thing about my bottle? Of course you do. It's personalised. But, I didn't put my name on it, because a) that's a little boring and b) bub has no idea who Toni is anyway. I wanted a label that made it quite clear this bottle was for me and me only {and something that even a 2yr old would understand - well she would if she could ready anyway}. So I went with...

Mum's drink! Aka back off everyone else. There will be no sharing. 

Once you become a mum it's hard to have anything that is just your own any more, because little people love to share everything with you {but only when it suits them}. Well I finally have something that's just mine, even if it is only a drink bottle. I hear you all saying she's just going to steal it anyway... well don't worry I have that covered because she has her own super cool personalised bottle too.

PERSONALISED CONTIGO KIDS AUTOSPOUT STRIKER 

Contigo also have cute kids striker bottles which are hands down the best kids drink bottles I've ever come across. Why you ask? Not because of the cool designs, or the fact that they're personalised, but because THEY DON'T LEAK. I know a lot of bottles and sippy cups claim to be no leak, but the reality is when they end up upside down in the nappy bag, they leak. I've gone through countless brands that have done this, but this one doesn't. I've literally stood over the sink with the bottle upside down to make sure {FYI this was with the mouthpiece clipped closed}.

The secret is the super cool mouthpiece system. To open, all kids have to do is push the button and the mouthpiece flicks up. To close it just push the mouthpiece down and the cap closes on top and clicks in place. It's pretty simple to use even though its a pretty high tech mechanism {well high tech as far as kids drink bottles are concerned}. I can do it with one hand and bub learnt how to do it within a day and she's super proud of herself when she gets it to click back into place {she shouts yaaaaay and hi-five's me}. The funny thing is watching her daddy all confused trying to work it out then being schooled by a toddler on how its done {I think he needs to acknowledge that sometimes the toddler is smarter than him}.

Learning how to close her new contigo water bottle from @namemystuff. Super easy even a toddler can do it {even though daddy can't figure it out lol}. #personalisedgifts #toddler #drinkbottle #imabigkidnow

A video posted by Toni {Finding Myself Young} (@tones84) on Nov 15, 2015 at 11:15pm PST

The mouthpiece ensures that the bottle can't leak even if its knocked {or thrown} sideways or upside down, as toddlers tend to do. Although I wouldn't encourage throwing it too often just incase the bottle cracks {I'm not saying it would, but you know I wouldn't take any unnecessary risks}. The lid also has a built in straw which is great for younger kids who aren't used to drinking from a proper cup {i.e. holding it upright to drink}. The straw can also be removed once kids have learnt to drink with the bottle upright, making the bottle perfect for toddlers through to school age kids. We've already removed the straw because bub likes to think she's a big kid.

Another ingenious feature is the tilted handle. It might not seem like much but having the handle on an angle allows for kids to drink properly from the mouthpiece when the bottle is held upright {aka they don't smash their head on the handle}. It also means they can carry the bottle around easily. Plus the bottle's are personalised on the lid. In bub's case I just went with her name.

The names are permanently marked onto the bottle so they won't rub or wash off like normal sticker labels. Which is great for daycare and school where everything needs to be labelled {or when all the kids in your mothers group have the same type of bottle like ours do}. The bottles are also top shelf dishwasher safe. If you have a little boy or don't fancy a flower bottle, there are other designs available, including a robot design and a princess design {which we also have}.

NAME MY STUFF

We got our personalised Contigo bottles from Name My Stuff. Name My Stuff specialise in personalising a range of babies and kids products. They permanently mark all items with either names or your own personal message. They originally started selling personalised dummies and have since expanded to include other items such as drinkware, lunchboxes and goggles. We've been using Name My Stuff products since bub was little and have countless personalised dummies, lunchboxes and now drink bottles. None of them have ever washed or rubbed off despite continuous use and washing. I cannot recommend their products enough. They're perfect for kids who attend daycare or go to school and they're also a fun way to jazz up everyday items for us adults too. And hopefully my fancy new drink bottle continues to inspire me to drink more water.

Tell me, do you manage 2ltrs of water a day?

Toni x

Disclosure - I was gifted the two Contigo bottle's for the purpose of review. All opinions expressed are my own based on our experience with the products, as per my disclosure policy. I did not receive payment for this review.

Linking with Jess & Caroline